Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is a Game Play experience in which a player sees
something that suggests the presence of more play area on a map. The
effectiveness of this experience eliminates surprise, heightens
curiosity, and strengthens cohesion between the two portions of the map.

Invasion’s Barriers

The best example of this is found in Invasion, where the map has two
distinct play areas separated by a barrier. The players are instructed
to take down the barriers to proceed further in the mission. They
realize that taking down the barriers leads to what is beyond the
barriers themselves. The barriers in essence foreshadow the rest of the
map.

Additionally players can see bits and pieces of the other side of the
barriers, just a little to confirm there is more – a lot more. The
little specks of view reinforce the foreshadowing.

Generalizing

Take a map like Valhalla. The center hill blocks your view of the
other side of it until you reach the top of it. While moving towards the
hill you can’t see what is on the other side, but you know there is
another side because you can see how far away the cliff wall is from the
hill. The hill and the cliff walls together foreshadow the other side
of the hill as you approach it.

Now you may be thinking this doesn’t really amount to much, but
unconsciously it really does. Imagine you are moving toward the hill,
and then when you get to the top and see over it you see a large
obstruction, like a gorge, that prevents you from moving further. Would
that feel natural? Or would it be a surprise? When you forge your map
you want people to get a sense of what is beyond what they see and it
needs to be reasonable, expected, never a surprise or a shock. The flow
of your map’s Geometry and Architecture needs to be consistent enough to
make sense. One area of your map should naturally foreshadow the next.

Any ramp can help you suggest where it leads to by giving the player a
little view into the Space at the other end of the ramp. If the ramp
leads down into a basement of sorts, just seeing the floor immediately
around the entrance of the Space is helpful, because they can already
see what materials the flooring is made of, so they have some idea of
what they will see once they get inside.

With each step around a round wall, the map slowly unfolds into view
of the player. The round wall helps you to give the player the feeling
there is more to see of your map if they just keep walking.

A single window breaking the enclosure can help players see just a
little more of your map as they head down the Walkway, and can be used
to help them see part of where they are heading before they get there.

The grav lifts on Gaurdian and those on Construct both foreshadow the
other end of the lifts. The player who sees the lifts knows that there
is more to the map and that the lifts will take him there. Lifts are
bright to attract the attention of players, to draw them in.

Teleports are bright for the same reason. Clearly they imply there is
more on the other end. But they give no clue what the other end may
look like. They don’t do much foreshadowing.

Summary

Techniques in foreshadowing can offer your players curiosity, and bring cohesion through out your map.

Each part of your map should give a sense of what is beyond it, and you should avoid surprises.
Seeing into a room can help give a sense of what the room looks like.

Seeing around a round wall can help show there is more to the map if one simply keeps moving forward around the wall.